He already has a mantelpiece brimming with awards and now Geoffrey Rush has to make space for a new one - Australian of the Year.

The country's top citizens' award recognises Rush's outstanding achievements in a lifetime career on the stage and screen as well as his long-term commitment to the Australian arts, including mentoring young artists.

Rush already has a swag of accolades to his name, including the esteemed "Triple Crown of Acting" - an Academy Award, a Tony and an Emmy.

He was the first Australian-born actor to win an Academy Award, which he earned for his breakthrough performance in the 1996 film Shine.

The 60-year-old also has three British Academy Film and Television Awards, two Golden Globes, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, a number of AFI awards and has been inducted into the ranks of Australia's elite performing artists with a Helpmann Award.

Rush, who accepted the award in Canberra on Wednesday, said he was lucky his career coincided with an expansion in the Australian arts scene.

"Hopefully there are footsteps for young Australians to follow proudly," he said in a video presentation ahead of the award announcement.

Rush, who was born in Toowoomba in Queensland and now lives in Melbourne, is patron of the Melbourne International Film Festival, Toowoomba's Empire Theatre Foundation and the Spina Bifida Foundation Victoria.

pfft how is this news? To be honest I would a rather an australian who's actually done something worthwhile that has changed Australian lives. Not academy award winners. :S Australian of the year is a complete joke. :s

Sunnydale Darkness wrote: Australian of the year is a complete joke. :s

Surprised? Not.

The awards are awash with people whose main achievements were in the entertainment industry. FFS, the Australian of the Year in 1985 was Paul Hogan. Two years later the award went to Johnny Farnham. The Seekers got it in 1967 and Lee Kernaghan in 2008. The list is heavily populated with sporting stars. Tennis players and cricketers feature prominently among them.

It would be worse if large scale frauds, bishops and cardinals were on the list, though. Oh, wait...

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca (attrib.)

Fred Hollows is among the list of Australians of the year. I think he richly deserved the award. Another deserving recipient is Ian Kiernan. Joan Sutherland, Patrick White, Robert Helpmann, Manning Clark and a string of eminent scientists, some of whom are also Nobel laureates, deserved theirs because they were excellent role models within the nation and convincing examples that Australia is not just a society of yobbos outside of it.

Some leading entertainment figures became Australian of the Year for activities not because of their prowess as singers, cricketers and whatnot, but for their charitable work, although I don't know if organising yet another Black and White Ball, giving speeches at fundraising dinners, or gladhanding the handicapped is sufficient to be thus honoured.

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca (attrib.)

Cripes, all those awards! Geoffery Rush is going to have to get rid of his awards shelf and get an awards room, inclusive of a super strength shelf for the Australian of the Year trophy as I read it weighs quite a lot.

Tony: "I'm not getting any reception. How about you?"Ziva: "I'm braless"Tony: "I noticed that earlier. But on your phone, they're called 'bars'"

"Australian of the year" implies the award is handed out at the end of the year after the "Australian of the year" has done something worthy of being named "Australian of the year". I'm glad the Australian of the year was not Pippa Middleton's behind.